Quote[/b] (jimscott @ Oct. 11 2004,5:19)]Never thought I would be in a discussion form with impassioned debates about soil media! Kinda strange when you sit back and think about it objectively. Anyways, yeah, perlite floats, turns green, and has that nails on chalkboard quality about it. Open tray has been a subject of debate in another topic. To me it is a logical artificial way of mimicking nature, since all plants are getting rained upon and the water leaches into the ground, washing what ever impurities there might be. I, too, belong to the muddy arm club. Haven't tried nuking my media yet, but it might be viewed as a grossout factor, since the family likes to re-heat food and "Hot Pockets".